GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Sounds of tires screeching and cars backfiring – that is what woke people up around Midnight on Saturday in some Greensboro neighborhoods. 

It’s a common occurrence in the Kirkwood neighborhood, and people living there say it needs to stop. 

They think it happened here in the shopping center parking lot on Lawndale, so they drove out here the next morning to find these skid marks going all around the parking lot.

A nearby resident who only wished to be identified as Jenny said it went on for about 45 minutes. She said she was nervous to go outside, but she managed to record a small segment of the ordeal.

“If someone stops them, they are going to flee to all the side streets, and what’s going to happen, there is going to be speeding cars coming down here,” she said. “Two things put me in danger: My body can get hurt, and they will know who I am which is why I am not on camera.”

She isn’t alone. Many neighbors told FOX8 it was an issue, but they did not want to go on camera for the same reason: fear.

“Who, if anybody, is attempting to bring this to a halt?” Jenny asked.

Greensboro police say, because of staffing shortages, officers are running from call to call and have to prioritize calls with weapons, violent calls, calls with injuries or where medical attention is needed.

“I don’t know what else was going on that night but that should have been stopped, and we can’t let this continue,” said Zack Matheny from the Greensboro City Council.

Matheny is encouraging people to report these issues and be specific about your concerns to police.

“Noise ordinance is one thing, and I think when you have got folks behind a vehicle that takes it from a noise ordinance to public safety,” he said.

From a city standpoint, he says they need to give people something else to do. But neighbor Jenny says they need solutions now.

“This can escalate. If you are wondering this is just some nefarious young folk and it will pass, I beg to differ. This is here to stay and accelerate,” she said.

Police said they did receive one call over the weekend for what sounded like a gun discharge or a car backfire in this area. By the time police got there, they did not see anything. That’s another issue with these calls. Because they are behind the wheel, they can get out of the area fast.